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by Aurora West
Summary: In 1497, the world and its timeline are at risk of being destroyed forever, unless five newsies and a young girl can save it.
1. Section 1

Author's note: I wrote this in about 1997 and it's only been put up because I find it amusing. 

Prologue

Stamel and Wilana Holdraas drove their wagon through peaceful Fogwood Forest. Wilana was at the reins when she heard the wailing of a child. Stopping the horse, she climbed down to the road. "What are you doing?" her husband snarled.

Wilana didn't look back. She followed the sound until she found a small bundle lying in the middle of the road. She picked it up and looked inside, uttering a small gasp of surprise at what she saw. An almost newborn baby gazed up at her from within the folds of the blanket.

Stamel walked up to her and grabbed her roughly. "Leave the worm to die on the road."

Wilana pulled away. "It's just a babe. I won't leave it to die."

Stamel sneered. "Play nursemaid then," he said, storming away. "I won't help you take care of the worm."

Wilana sighed sadly. "May his innards rot in his filthy carcass," she muttered. "Why did I marry him?"

Chapter 1

"Hey, Jack!" a brown haired boy said, tapping someone on the shoulder. "Ya better get up."

"Too early."

The brown haired boy sighed in exasperation. "Jack, yer on the floor! If ya don't get up now, then—"

All of the sudden, a boy fell off his bunk, right on top of Jack. He snapped his head up and howled, "Mush! Get _off _me, you gorilla!"

The brown haired boy laughed and leaned back against the bedpost, exposing a crutch and his crippled right leg.

"You shoulda said somethin' about him, Crutchy. Why didn'tcha?" Jack said as Mush got off him.

"I did," Crutchy replied. "Ya said it was too early."

"I lied. Don't _ever _listen to me if I tell you that again."

Crutchy nodded. After a moment he said, "Jack? Does this look real?"

"What?" Jack asked absently, pulling up his pants.

"When I walk. I can tell a lot of people think I'm a fake crip."

Jack patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Crutchy. There's plenty of people that _know _you ain't fakin' it."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Twenty minutes later the newsies had bought their papers and were ready to sell them, when suddenly...

For Crutchy it felt like that first winter he had spent on the streets. He had been so young, and it had been so cold... And before he knew it, he was in the middle of a forest, facing a woman with an arrow pointed straight at him. "Uh, 'scuse me," he began nervously, "but, uh, why are you pointin' that arrow at me? I didn't do nothin' to you."

The woman just stared at him, not lowering her bow. Now that Crutchy took a closer look, he realized that 'woman' wasn't a very good word for her. She was only about his age, maybe a year older. And she was pretty, Crutchy noticed, eyeing her. "Uh," he tried again, "got a name?"  
For the first time the girl spoke. "Maybe," she said, her dark eyes revealing nothing. However, she lowered her bow and pushed a few strands of her dark brown hair out of her face. She was about Crutchy's height, which was pretty tall. "Do you?"

"Yeah, but I asked first."

The girl smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Gardrania Holdraas. And you are?"  
"Crutchy," he said, shaking her slim hand with his bony one.

"Crutchy," she murmured thoughtfully. "Is that why?" she asked, pointing to his crutch.

He nodded. "Gardrania. I ain't heard that—" he stopped, as, for the first time, he noticed a little winged lizard about the size of a small dog. "What's that?"

Gardrania smiled tenderly. "This is a desert lizard. Her name's Ista."

"A desert...lizard?"  
"Yeah, you know, a dragon." She paused for a moment. "Or maybe you _didn't _know," she added scornfully.

Crutchy decided he'd had enough of this strange girl and her weird little lizard. "Sure. Now, if ya don't mind, I gotta get back to New York. I don't know how I got here, but I gotta get back."

Gardrania paled. _You asked for someone to talk to this about, _Ista informed her. _I got you someone_.

"_You what_?" she exploded. "How could you do that without my consent? You have _no _right to drag this boy from his own time and home just because of something I said! I was probably asleep!"

_No, you were awake_, Ista corrected. _Anyway, I think he was a good choice. He seems to like you_, she added smugly.

Gardrania lifted her head to find Crutchy staring at her. She flushed and turned around. "C'mon, then. I'd better explain what this is all about."

Chapter 2

"See," Gardrania began, "I've always liked dragons, and dragons have always been—attracted to me. Wherever my family went, dragons just sort of—appeared around our wagon. We're traders," she added. "My father was getting tired of it, and he was going to kill any dragon that came around. So, I ran away. I brought Ista with me, and I must have told her I needed someone to tell about this—"

_I wasn't good enough for her_, Ista added.

Crutchy looked at the little dragon with surprise written all over his narrow face. "That thing just—said somethin'?"

"Ista," Gardrania corrected dryly. "And yes, she has a telepathic ability that allows her to—"

"Crutchy!" a new voice said incredulously, interrupting her. She looked at the speaker. He was a boy of average height, although he was shorter than her. He was also probably older than he looked. He wore a hat over his dark brown hair, just like Crutchy did. She looked back to the crippled newsy. "Ista brought you here."

Crutchy motioned for the newcomer to stand by him. "Gardrania, this is Racetrack—"

"You can call me Race, though," he interrupted.

"Um, hello………Race," she said, glancing at Ista.

_Something bad is going to happen_, Ista said, her tone colored with worry. _You're going to need all the help you can get_.

_Not from a bunch of boys who have no idea what's going on_, Gardrania replied testily.

Ista shrugged. _Suit yourself_.

Race had been staring at Gardrania, when all of the sudden he smacked himself in the face.

"What?" Crutchy asked.

"She ain't half as pretty as Medda," he muttered.

Crutchy grinned.

"Why thank you, Race," a woman said, pushing her red hair out of her face.

"Medda!" Race choked. "I, uh—"

Medda smiled flirtatiously at him and Crutchy bit back a laugh. For as long as he could remember his friend had been in love with Medda Larkson, a friend of Jack's who was a vaudeville singer. It didn't matter to him that she was three years his senior. She flirted with Race from time to time, but Crutchy didn't know if she had any serious thoughts about him. He doubted it.

_Does it matter to you_? Ista's voice asked, cutting through his thoughts.

He glanced at Gardrania. She was staring at Race wide-eyed. She turned her head to look at Crutchy and smiled. "Maybe," he told her dragon.

Ista nodded approvingly. _I like him_, she told Gardrania.

_So do I_, she replied. Out loud, she said, "Crutchy, if we're going to be friends, you might as well call me what my friends call me."

"Which is?"

"Drania."

_She'll get mad if you call her anything else_, Ista put in.

"Be quiet."

_I'm just warning him_.

Gardrania glared at her dragon, then asked Crutchy, "So, where are you from? When, too."

"Uh, New York City, in 1899. What year is it now?"

"1497."

Crutchy's eyes widened in surprise. He walked over to Race, who was mesmerized by Medda. "Race. Race!" He dragged him to where Medda couldn't hear what he had to say. "Race. Guess what year it is? 1497! We ain't even in the United States!"

Race very suddenly came out of his trance. "What?"

"Yeah, ya heard me right. An' I'd prefer if you and Medda wait until I ain't here to—"

Just then Medda walked up to them. "Did I hear you say my name, Crutchy?" she said sweetly. Her eyes showed that she'd heard every word he'd said.

"Seductress," he muttered.

Medda caught Race's eyes. Crutchy groaned inwardly. They were getting googely eyed! The worst part was, Crutchy thought dismally, she actually looked like she meant it. I'm actually gonna have to live with this. Poor me.


	2. Section 2

The next month would have been sheer torture for Crutchy, had he not discovered Gardrania was willing to show him around the woods where she made her home. She taught him how to use a bow, not an easy feat, considering he only had the use of one leg and needed one hand to hold his crutch. This suited Race and Medda just fine, because while they were gone the two of them were free to do whatever they wanted.

Race had found out that Gardrania had a recipe for "all natural" beer, which he had struggled to make(finally pulling it off). He sat in her home made hammock sipping a glass of beer. Medda came out of the house and sat down carefully beside him.

"We're alone," she told him.

"I know." After saying this he leaned over to put his beer down, but _accidentally _leaned too far. The hammock tipped over, and Race coincidentally landed on top of Medda. Before she could get up, he kissed her and felt her respond.

"You know, if you wanted me to kiss you, you could have said something," she told him teasingly when they finally broke their kiss.

"I know," he replied. "I wanted to do somethin' you weren't expectin'."

Medda leaned over to kiss him when they heard a voice.

"How touching."

The pair stood up guiltily, brushing grass and dead leaves off their clothes. Who they saw surprised both of them. A boy of about sixteen or seventeen years stared at them. His dirty blond hair fell into the one good eye he had—the other was covered by a patch. "I 'spose whoever lives here don't know you're doin' this?"

"They ain't home."

"They?" the boy asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. He was taller than Race by about an inch, so when Race walked over to him he had to look up slightly to talk to his face.

"Look, Blink, just because your older than me don't mean that you gotta insult me. I know you think your better than me, but you're wrong. 'Cause if that's the way you feel, I'm the one that's better."

Blink scowled at Race a moment before looking at Medda. "Hey, Medda. Howzit rollin'?" he said, nodding to her. She smiled at him.

Race turned to walk back to his half finished beer only to find Crutchy standing over it. He shifted his weight on his crutch and said, "Heya Race. Amazin' ya didn't finish this. What were ya doin'?"

"None of _your _business."

"Oooo. Touchy, ain't we?"

Race stormed into the house and Medda sighed. Just then, Gardrania and Ista appeared in the clearing. Blink's eye grew wide, and he walked over to her. Kissing her hand, he said, "Allow me to introduce meself. I'm Kid Blink."

Crutchy walked over to stand in front of Blink. Smiling sweetly, he said, "But he'd _rather _be called Blink," and he elbowed him as hard as he could in the stomach. Blink doubled over in pain. Oops, Crutchy thought sarcastically. Too low.

_They're fighting over you, _Ista observed.

_I know, _Gardrania replied.

_You like Crutchy quite a bit, don't you?_

_Of course not!_ she almost yelled out loud. _What even gave you that idea! _Ista rolled her eyes.

When Blink recovered sufficiently enough to stand up, Crutchy said to him, "Blink, this is Gardrania." Quietly, so only Blink could hear, he said, "Don't go near her, or I swear, you'll be sorry. I'll get Race to do sometin' to you. He understands this sorta thing."

"Oh, he understands it, all right," Blink said with a humorless laugh.

Gardrania gave them a wondering glance, then went back into the forest to find dinner. Crutchy brought Blink into the house to show him around, leaving Medda alone outside. Almost immediately a tall, blond haired man walked into the clearing. He was good looking, Medda supposed, but she preferred Race's subtle looks to this strange man's.

He walked right up to her. "Excuse me," he said in a deep voice, "but are you the owner of this house?"

Medda promptly decided she didn't like this guy, whoever he was. Therefore, she thought, I will lie. "Why, no, it belongs to my mother." As an afterthought she added, "She's away on a business trip right now."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe _you _can help me then. I'm looking for a girl; younger than you, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. A little lizard follows her everywhere."

Yep, Medda thought, he's looking for Gardrania. I'll kill myself before I tell _him _where she is. "Well, there're plenty of girls with brown hair and brown eyes," she said, smiling pleasantly. "But I've never seen any with a lizard."

"May I have a look inside your house, ma'am?"

"Sure," she willingly complied, knowing he wouldn't find anything. They walked into the house, and Medda was greeted by two bored stares. Blink was sprawled out on the floor, while Race stared moodily off into space. Crutchy was nowhere to be seen. She figured he was in one of the bedrooms at the back of the house.

But when she went back to look, it wasn't him. In fact, she could tell that before she got into the room. "Get out of this house!" she yelled at a thirteen year old boy with brown hair.

The boy almost dropped the cigar he was smoking out of his mouth. "Why're _you _here?" he said disbelievingly. "And another thing—where _is _here?"

Medda rolled her eyes. "Snipes, come here."

Snipes stepped forward. "What?"

Medda grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him out to the main room. "George," she said looking at Race, "bring him outside, please. We have a guest."

"Yeah, I guess we do," Race said, pointedly loud enough for the man to hear the insult in his tone. Then he grinned at Medda and put his hand on Snipes's shoulder, steering him out the door.

When they had left, the man looked at Medda. "If you see the girl I'm looking for, look me up. My name is Stamel."

"Sure, I'll do that," she told him. Five minutes later, she went to the door, and, making sure Stamel had gone, called out to Race, "Alright, you can come back in now. But make sure Snipes puts out that cigar!"

Crutchy then made an appearance as he walked over to the door, just as Snipes and Race walked through. "Heya, Snipes. What's happenin' back home?"

"Aw, nothin' much. Jack's wonderin' 'bout ya, Crutchy. Mush came down wi' somethin'. I dunno what. He was pukin' an' everythin'," Snipes summarized.

"Yeah." Crutchy turned to follow them in. "Poor Boots. _He's _gotta sleep under 'im."

"Um, yeah," Blink added from the floor. "He took your bed, Crutchy. After that first night—"

"_Don't _say it," Snipes said, holding out his hand. "I had to watch it, remember?"

Blink grinned. "What's fer dinner?"

Snipes perked up. "Dinner?"

"Whatd'ya think's fer dinner?" Crutchy questioned. "Whatever Drania brings back."

Race snorted. "That could be anything from dirt to a cow. A _live _cow," he added maliciously. "That we have to slaughter ourselves. Yum, yum, boy, am I hungry."

Snipes suddenly looked about as sick as Crutchy imagined Mush did.

_We're back_, Ista suddenly announced inside all of their heads. A few moments later, Gardrania walked through the door carrying some roots and wild vegetables. Behind her was Ista, with a dead squirrel in her mouth and a rabbit in her forearms. She was hopping on her hind legs while she utilized her "hands".

"Oh, darn, no live cow," Race said quietly to Snipes.

Medda glanced at him warningly before taking the vegetation from Gardrania and setting it on the crudely carved wooden table. "Crutchy, cook these."

"Yes, ma'am!"

She pulled his hat down over his eyes as she walked past him to get the animals from Ista. While he chopped the vegetables and boiled some water he listened to Medda tell Gardrania what had happened.

Medda finished by saying, "Oh, and he said his name was Stamel."

_Oh, we know him_, Ista said from the floor, picking up a piece of raw squirrel meat.

"Yeah. He's been looking for me ever since he heard I could talk to any dragon."

"I thought dragons talked to _you_," Medda said bluntly. Gardrania smiled slightly, nodding.

Crutchy stuck his finger in the soup to taste it. "So, this Stamel guy, is he dangerous?"

Race choked and elbowed Blink. "See? What'd I tell ya?"

"What? What! So I'm concerned with my friend's safety! Ya got a problem wi' that!"

Blink couldn't control himself any longer. "_Friend_!" he gasped. Snipes was rolling on the floor wheezing.

Gardrania gave Crutchy a confused look. He shrugged, glaring at his three hysterical friends. He sighed, thinking, it's gonna be a _long _night.

--

Gardrania had her own room, as did Medda. The boys slept in the main room. They had wanted it that way. So, she sat in her own room, taking out the braid she had in her hair, and then combing it. She was going to go talk to Medda, but when she heard a door shut, she instinctively knew Medda already had company. Of course, Gardrania thought, I don't want to get into Medda's personal life, but why would she want Race in her bed? I mean, I can think of better people—

_Why, thinking of inviting one of them in here_? Ista said dryly.

"No, but if I was, then it would _not _be Race."

_I know, it would be Crutchy_.

"You know me too well, Ista," Gardrania said laughingly, twisting a strand of her dark hair around her finger.

_Of course I do. Now go to sleep_. To the dragon's surprise, she did, and Ista settled down by her head.

--

Crutchy was woken up very suddenly in the middle of the night by quiet voices at the back of the house. Gardrania and Medda? he thought. Now? That's when he realized that he didn't see the lump on the floor that he had come to know as Race's sleeping form. He got up as quietly as he could to go investigate. Reaching the door to Medda's room, he stopped and rubbed his eyes. He was about to know when the door opened. Deciding that it was probably Medda—or maybe Race or Gardrania, he said, "Y'know, I can't get no sleep in this house. Every night there's—" Taking a closer look, he realized that it was _not _Medda. "Hey, Mush! Howja get here?"

"I don't know," Mush said, sounding a little confused. "Would you _happen _to know why Race and Medda are _together _in _one _bed?"

Crutchy grinned slowly. "Indeed I do. Oh, yes, he'll never do anything to _me _again." At Mush's confused look, he added, "C'mon, it's a long story. I'll tell you the _whole _thing."


	3. Section 3

When Crutchy woke up the next morning Blink immediately walked past him and threw some clothes on his head. "Laundry. Who's got breakfast?"

"Race," Snipes said from the floor.

Crutchy shoved the clothes off him and said, "Don't expect him to do anything for awhile. He ain't gonna get up for a couple hours. Embarrassment or actual tiredness, I don't know which."

Blink snorted. "I was wonderin' how long it would take. After I caught 'em kissin' yesterday—well, you get the point."

"Yeah, I do," Crutchy said with humor in his tone.

There was a silence. After a while Blink repeated, "So, who's got breakfast?"

Crutchy shrugged. "Snipes'll have to take it."

"Noooo!" he wailed. "I just _got _here!"

"Too—" Crutchy began, stopping suddenly. "Ya hear that?"

"What? I don't hear nothin'," Snipes said matter of factly.

Blink looked at Crutchy, bewildered. "Yer right! She ain't there!"

"Who!"

"Ista."

"What about 'er?"  
Crutchy stood up and said worriedly, "We can't feel Ista's, what'd'ya call it, her presence. Which means either she's far away from here or—dead."

"Dead?"  
"No she _isn't_," Gardrania said firmly from the bedroom door. "We're going to find her." She looked at the closed door leading to Medda's room. "Get those two up."

"Gardrania?" Crutchy interrupted. "Sorry, but, this is Mush. Mush, c'mere. This is Gardrania. This is her house."

Gardrania nodded to him. "Glad to have you with us, Mush. As you can see, you're not the first."

"She's kidding," Crutchy murmured to Mush.

Gardrania looked around the room and resumed speaking. "Blink, come with me. Snipes, you make breakfast." Snipes jumped up and Blink followed Gardrania out the door.

"So, Gardrania, where're we goin'?"

"In to town to get some horses."

"Why?"

She answered without turning her head. "We're going to save Ista. We have to go up into the mountains. We have to go fast. Horses go fast. That is why we need horses." She paused a moment. "Can you ride?"

"Well, sure, I guess."

"Good."

--

Meanwhile, back at the house, Crutchy opened the door to Medda's room and walked in. "Hey, lovebirds, I know ya had a lot 'a fun last night an' yer tired now an' all that but," he walked over to Race's prostrate form and screamed in his ear, "_Get up_!"

Race jumped about half a foot, dropping Medda in the process. "What'd'ya think your doin'! Don't know one got the right to sleep in this house?"

"You'd be in _real _big trouble if this wasn't an emergency. Get dressed and get out in the main room. Now."

"I ain't taking orders from you."

"Yeah, you are."

"Fine."

"And you get out there too, Medda." He turned away and left the room, murmuring, "I can't believe I pulled it off! I just told _Racetrack _what to do, and he listened! Yes!"

Twenty minutes later Gardrania and Blink rode up on horses, with five more tethered behind. "Up," she commanded. "We're riding into the mountains."

"Are those….horses?" Crutchy stammered.

"Yeah," Blink said absently.

"I can't ride a horse."

"Why?"

"Why'd'ya think!"

Gardrania looked over at him from the small chestnut mare she was riding. "Crutchy, you can ride. Not very fast at first, but you _can _ride. I can take your crutch. Easy enough?"

"Sure. Help me get up," he answered deadly.

She boosted him up, and taking his crutch, said, "Hold on to the reins. Pull them to stop. Pull left to go left, pull right to go right. Put your feet in these." She pointed to the stirrups. "Blink's got the basic idea. He'll help you." She held his gaze a moment to long to be friendly, then smiled briefly and went to help Snipes.

Blink rode up next to him. "Need some help?"

"Naw, I don't think so. It seems pretty easy, is it really that bad?"

Blink grimaced. "Yeah. My butt is _really _startin' to hurt."

Crutchy laughed. "No, I mean besides that."

"It's okay. Once you get your balance right."

Crutchy nodded. "What kinda horse is this."

Blink narrowed his eyes and looked at the horse. "Bay mare I think is what Drania said. Nice horse. I wonder if Race is gonna enjoy this?"

Crutchy snorted. "He watches 'em, he don't ride 'em."

"Yeah, yer probly right," Blink replied. Gardrania motioned for everyone to start moving, and Blink said to Crutchy, "Well, let's go. I have a feeling this is gonna take awhile."

--

As Stamel walked down the passageway to his room, he thought, things couldn't be better. Finally the boss realizes how important I am and how much he needs me. I deserve a promotion. He motioned to a man walking towards him in the other direction. "You, gypsy! Over here." The man walked over to him reluctantly. "Now, uh, whatever your name is—"

"Kris," the man said, his voice full of barely contained anger. "Remember, Stamel? What do you want?"

Stamel realized that he had to be careful around this character. "Well, _Kris_, I was going to ask if any travelers had been spotted."

"No." And I'm sure I would tell you if they had been, Kris thought dryly. "I'm off duty. Why don't you ask whoever's in the tower right now?"

While Stamel was trying to decide if Kris had meant it or not, the gypsy slipped away to his quarters.


	4. Section 4

"_I hate horses!_"

"We know!" chorused Snipes, Blink, and Mush. "Youse been sayin' that the whole ride!" Snipes added.

"I can't help it," Crutchy retorted. "I've never been this high off the lousy ground!"

Gardrania rode up next to him. "How could you hate this animal?"

"Oh, it's easy. When ya think like me, you hate any animal bigger than a donkey. _Especially _if you have to ride one."

She smiled and said, "You'll get used to it."

"Yeah, in about a decade."

They rode for about another ten minutes, talking back and forth when Snipes, who had ridden ahead yelled excitedly, "You guys! Get up here! Quick!"

Race shook his head. "I'm takin' my time. It'll annoy 'im."

Everyone else spurred their horses on, except for Crutchy, who shrugged and said, "Figured ya wanted to talk about somethin'. Anyways, I can't ride fast."

Race nodded. "Listen, Crutchy, maybe you don't care and maybe you ain't the best person to tell this, but—"

"Is this gonna get corny?" Crutchy interrupted.

Race glared at him. "For your benefit, I'll just get to the point. I really like Medda."

"Actually, I'd say you love her."

"How would you know?"

"Race, you had sex with the woman. D'ya think I'm stupid?"

Race raised an eyebrow. "No, I think you like Gardrania."

"Uh, no?" Crutchy tried unsuccessfully. "Okay, I do. Just don't tell no one, huh?"  
"Sure."

By this time they had reached the others. The New Yorkers were staring at the broad meadow that melted into rubble about five miles on. The rubble was at the foot of a huge mountain range. Massive peaks dominated their view; some so tall they were hidden by the high cirrus clouds. Icy waterfalls could be seen tumbling from the heights, flowing towards the sea.

"What is this place?" Snipes asked in an awed voice.

"This," Gardrania said slowly, "is the edge of Fogwood. Ahead is Dragon's Meadow, and those," she paused, "are the Draco Kaeltraas." She motioned to her friends. "Let's go."

--

Jack Kelly and another newsy, Boots, sat in a restaurant eating dinner. "So," Jack began, "Crutchy was first, then Race, Blink, Snipes, and Mush." As he said their names, he ticked them off on his fingers. "Medda's gone too. What I wanna know is, where are they?"

Boots shrugged, stabbing a carrot with his fork. "I dunno. I wish Snipes—" All of the sudden, Jack was gone! He had disappeared right in front of Boots's eyes. "Jack? Jack, this ain't funny! Where'd ya go? Jack!" He ran over to another table. "Specs! Specs! Jack just, he's gone! Gone gone! I seen 'im go! Just like that!"

Specs pushed Boots over. "Shutup, Boots. And get some sleep. You ain't got no idea what your talkin' about."

"But—oh, man." Boots walked glumly back to his chair. He looked at Jack's plate. "Ate all his food, too."

--

Kris sat in the watchtower, idly flipping through the pages of the record book. He glanced out the window often, knowing the girl would come today. That much he knew from the dragon. About the time he was thinking this, he saw seven figures on horseback crossing Dragon's Meadow. He was about to get up when he heard a boy's voice behind him. "Where're you going? You aren't off duty yet."

Kris turned around slowly, already knowing who it was. "Qik. What are you doing here?"

"There's nowhere else to go," Qik said, shrugging. He brushed his blonde hair out of his face. He probably got it from his father, Kris thought ruefully. How Stamel could have this kid for a son Kris still didn't know. The only thing he shared in common with his father was his hair. He was much more like his mother. Kris smiled wistfully in remembrance. Qik's mother had been the one good influence in his life. She had wanted to stop this madness with the girl and the dragons. Kris nodded slightly to Qik, and the boy shut the tower door. "Didja see her? Where is she?" He ran over to the window. "Who are those other people?"

Kris shrugged. "I don't know. Listen, Qik, can you get the little dragon out?"

Qik looked at Kris disbelievingly. "Can I get her out? Of course I can get her out! I can go in and out of any room freely! Everyone thinks I'm some kind of idiot! I could get her now in, I don't know, then minutes."

"Good. Meet me in the meadow. We have to warn the girl."


	5. Section 5

Gardrania, Medda, and the boys rode in pairs across the meadow. From the back up it was Race and Crutchy, Medda and Snipes, Mush and Blink, and Gardrania alone in front. "Hey Drania," Blink said, eating an apple, "where exactly are we goin'?"

"Well," she began, "although you can't see it, there's a kind of fortress in these mountains. I'm almost positive Ista's there. That's where Stamel lives, and he's probably behind this."

"Ohhh," Blink said, nodding. "But, uh, what if she ain't here?"

"She is."

"Okay…." he turned to Mush, who was his best friend. "She can be pretty blunt sometimes."

"I noticed," Mush said, grinning. All of a sudden, he paled. "G-g-g-Gardrania? _What're those_?"

Gardrania and Blink both looked in the direction he was pointing. The fifteen year old's sharp ears caught Blink's sharp intake of breath. Three winged animals were gliding towards them. They were about three meters long and two tall, with the appearance of cats. Snipes was clutching his reins with white knuckles, while Crutchy, Race, and Medda showed almost no fear. The horses had stopped and were rolling their eyes in fright. "Don't be afraid of them," Gardrania soothed the equines. "They won't hurt you." By this time the cats had reached the small band of travelers. They sat back on their haunches and stared at the humans. "Do you know where the fortress is?" Gardrania asked politely. The cats looked at each other and nodded. "Can you tell us how to get there?"

The biggest cat stepped forward. "I am Ake. You ask about the fortress. It is evil. Of what use it is to you?"

"My friend's there. We're going to get her."

"Are you the one called Gardrania?"

"Yes."

Ake nodded. "Bellavia." The smallest cat stepped forward. "Bring them to the fortress." Bellavia nodded curtly to them. Ake continued, "Jerl, you go with her." The other cat stepped up to stand next to Bellavia and the two cats twined their tails together. Crutchy, seeing that, glanced quickly at Race and Medda. They hadn't seemed to notice. "They will find the fortress for you. I must go know." He turned and walked away.

As soon as the obviously older cat was gone Bellavia's eyes lit up and she smiled. "So, as long as that old windbag's gone and we're taking you up there, what are your names? We already know Crutchy, who I'm assuming is you." Crutchy nodded.

Gardrania grimaced. Her crippled friend was getting too well known. "Well, this is Blink, Mush, Snipes, Medda, and Race."

Jerl looked towards the nearby mountains. "The desert lizard, her name is Ista?"

"Yeah," Crutchy answered. "What're you?"

Jerl rustled his wings. "Winged cats. I never really understood the name—we aren't cats. Humans can be very strange sometimes."

"Don't we know it," Crutchy said dryly. Race grinned and put an arm around his friend's shoulders.

Bellavia's mood suddenly changed as she folded her ears back and spat, "If we're going up to that hellhole, let's get it over with."

--

Crutchy trudged up the mountainside path, far behind everyone else. I just ain't fit for mountain climbing, he thought glumly. Probly woulda been better off staying behind.

The group had been forced to leave their horses in the care of several winged cats when the trail started to get rough. The horses had, of course, been terrified, but it was better than abandoning them. Crutchy had voiced doubts about his going on, but Gardrania wouldn't hear it. So, he was stuck way behind. "I _knew _this would happen someday. You just can't get around it."

He was still grumbling when he noticed the man standing in from of him on the path.

The man folded his arms across his chest and said, "I was wondering how long it would take you to notice me. That will get you killed someday."

Crutchy's mouth fell open in surprise as he thought, you'd have to be an idiot to not notice how much this guy looks like Drania. And I ain't no idiot. So who is he?

It was, in fact, Kris. He eyed the crippled boy he was standing in front of, thinking, this kid holds some significance. But what? "What exactly are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen a gypsy?"

Crutchy wasn't sure why, but he felt like he could trust this man. "Actually, no. It's just, you look a lot like a friend of mine. Uh, in case you're wonderin', my name's Crutchy."

Kris looked at him sharply. "Kris Trouillefou. What is this person's name that I bear so much resemblance to?"

"You ain't out huntin' for her, are ya?"

"Yes. But for reasons other than you think. If this is the person I'm looking for, I will _not _harm her. Of course, if I have no idea who you're talking about, it won't matter to me and you can just go on your merry little way," Kris stated, becoming sarcastic.

"Her name's—Gardrania."

Kris clenched his fist and his eyes looked suspiciously wet. "Where is she?"  
Crutchy put his hands on his hips. "What's she to you?" he asked vehemently.

"My daughter!"

--

A young male fox silently crept through a clump of bushes. He soon sighted his quarry. He leaped, and—

"Blazer! Get off me!" a female fox about the same age as Blazer yelled.

"Got ya that time, Streak. Consider it payback."

"For what?"

"Never mind."

A woman with black hair standing near the fighting siblings said, "Blaze, take this to Clopin." She handed him a rolled up piece of paper. "Don't lose it."

"Sure, Jade."


	6. Section 6

Gardrania had watched Medda talk to Race, knowing what she was telling him. Medda had already told her younger friend her suspicion. "Are either of you Gifted?" Gardrania asked the cats as nonchalantly as she could.

Bellavia nodded. "I am. But only with females."

Gardrania took a deep breath, hoping no one would guess the basis of her next question. "So, you could tell if someone is sick or pregnant?"  
"Yes. Why?"  
"Just wondering."

Blink and Mush looked at each other. "I'll bet she was 'just wonderin''."

"Medda?"

"Probly."

"D'ya think?"

"I don't know. I guess she could be." Then his eyes widened. "He'll make us uncles!"

Mush punched his friend's shoulder lightly. "Don't worry about it!"

"You _want _to be junior's uncle?" Blink asked incredulously.

"People!" Bellavia suddenly called. "Shutup unless you want to be heard! We're here!"

Snipes peered around Blink. "Where's here? The front door? We're just gonna _stroll _right in!"

"Shut the kid up," Jerl said through clenched teeth. "These people have weapons far beyond our understanding."

"Say that again in English?" Blink interrupted.

"They could blow you to bits without your even realizing you'd been shot at."

Blink shrugged. "Simple enough. I get it."

Jerl continued, "Follow us and don't make a sound until we tell you you can."

"I was just—" Snipes began, getting cut off by the hand that Blink suddenly pushed over his mouth and held there tightly. Gardrania glared at him and Blink shook his head in mock disapproval.

"Now," Jerl began in a whisper, "Bellavia's going to trip the security system. Then we'll sneak in."

"This _isn't _the front door," Bellavia added with a grin. Then she silently crept up to a flat rock face with three symbols carved into the middle of it. Mumbling under her breath, she traced the second and third symbols with her claw. Then she quickly pushed down on the first symbol while covering the other two with her paw. There was a audible click, and the rock face slid open silently, exposing a dark corridor. "Follow me," she said, padding into it. Blink, Snipes, and Mush glanced at each other and were about to follow her when they heard a quiet, "Wait up!" Race was approaching them quickly.

"Don'tcha wanna talk with Medda?" Blink questioned softly.

Race gave him a strange look. "She ain't my life. I sorta need some time to think. Anyways, I ain't talked to you guys in a while."

"Well, the know-it-all over there says we ain't _'sposed _to talk," Blink replied sarcastically. Mush elbowed him and Snipes snickered. Then they walked into the mountain.

--

Crutchy stood gaping at Kris, who sighed and said, "I suppose you want an explanation?" Crutchy nodded dumbly. "Alright. When my wife and I had our first and only child fifteen years ago, I was not there. My wife had to do everything by herself, with a newborn baby to take care of, too. She obviously could not go without sleep to drive our wagon day and night, so, once while she was sleeping, a snake or something crossed the path. Our horse, who my wife had trusted not to bolt actually did bolt then. Our daughter bounced out. By the time Jade woke up and went back, it was too late. The daughter I never knew was gone. Until now."

"How poetic."

"Thank you."

Crutchy leaned back against a rock. "Okay. So now I know who Drania's parents are. Maybe you can tell me what this dragon thing's all about?"

Kris looked confused. "Dragon thing? Oh, that. Actually, I'm from Paris, and when I came here I met a dragon. She saved my life and now has a dragonet. Who, I might add, was born on the same day my daughter was. My family is linked to dragons. Forever."

Maybe when I'm older I'll be part of that family, Crutchy thought. Like, when I'm forty or so. "That's also very poetic," he said thoughtfully. Suddenly he remembered where he was supposed to be. "Oh, shoot! I'm _so _stupid! Everyone's prob'ly in that place by now! Oh, I can't believe this! Why'd I do it to myself……"

Kris waited for him to start rambling, then said, "It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it does."

Kris shook his head pityingly. "No, you stupid child, it does not. This is because I _work _here."

"You work for the bad guys." It was more of a statement than a question.

"It's logical, isn't it? This way I can look for my daughter without even breaking a sweat," Kris replied, shrugging.

Crutchy grinned and nodded. "Well, if you can get me in, lead on."

--

The trees were just a blue as Blazer sped by. Streak and he had both gotten their mother's, Comet, speed. He had another sister, Fiona, and two other brothers, Matthias and Martin, who were who knows where now.

Within minutes he was racing through the meadow, drawing closer to the mountain path he traveled so often. But when his breath began coming in short ragged gasps, he knew he needed to stop. With the breath he had left he gave three short barks. "Come on, Aquane," he complained. Then he saw the dragonet wheeling above him in the sky.

She landed and sat on her haunches, curling her tail around her feet. "I'm here. What do you need?"

Blazer pointed to the paper with a paw. "Jade said I'm supposed to give this to Kris. I was just wondering if you could tell me where exactly he is."

"Sure." Aquane launched herself into the air and called down, "Just keep going straight! That's the trail he's on!"

"Thanks!" Blazer yelled, beginning to run again.


	7. Section 7

The corridor was pitch black. Luckily, it was also straight, so the humans could feel their way along the wall. Mush, feeling sorry for Medda, found her at the rear of the line. "I think I scared him off," she said miserably.

"You're really—" Mush began in surprise.

"I don't know!" she wailed softly. "I'm old enough, shouldn't I?"

"Um, you're askin' the wrong person," Mush said uncomfortably. "I ain't like Race and Blink."

"I know. Actually, I don't want to talk about that right now. So, do you think we're ever going to get home?"  
"Sure," Mush replied. "At least, I hope so."

"Don't talk!" came Jerl's quiet, sharp command.

Medda sighed and Mush patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Don't feel bad," Mush whispered. "You don't know for sure. And you can talk to me if you ever want to."

"Thanks."

Bellavia was actually more like a cat than she realized. She had night vision, for one thing, and could see the rock walls clearly. She felt sorry for the humans, who had to keep one hand on the rough wall. She was also mad at Jerl. He was treating the humans as if they were dirt. Sometimes her mate just didn't understand these sorts of things. So, because of these things, Bellavia scouted ahead, looking for something that could be used as a torch.

That was when her sharp eyes caught a small glimmer of light. "Hey, everybody!" she hissed excitedly. "There's a light up ahead!"

"Good," Gardrania sighed. Soon they could make out shadows, then they could see once again. They stood in front of a metal door.

"Great," Snipes said bitterly. "We came all that way and now we can't get in any way. What a waste of time. Life sucks."

Blink was about to agree when he looked down. "Think again, Snipeshooter." He reached down and turned a handle. The door swung open, leading into an empty room. Blink walked in cautiously. He wiped his forehead and pushed his hair back. "God, it's hot!" He walked to the center of the room, where there was a hole. "Heat's comin' from over here…. It's just a big furnace room! Hey, you guys, c'mere!"

Snipes bounced over to his side. "We don't got nothin' like _this _at home. How'dja know what it was?"

"I looked at the furnace at the lodgin' house," Blink replied.

"That place gots a furnace?" Snipes asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but it don't work."  
"No _wonder_ it's so cold there in the winter!"

Blink rolled his eyes just as everybody else came over. "We have to be careful from now on," Bellavia informed them. "These are everybody's private quarters. There will be a lot of people sleeping, so please, _try not _to make a sound. This might be a big joke to all of you, but our fate, as well as yours, will be determined here. I'll bet you don't know what's going on here."

The newsies shook their heads.

Bellavia nodded. "Alright. Listen up. I'm only going to say this once." She took a deep breath. "About fifteen years ago, a man came to these mountains. He was strange looking, and he brought with him many things we did not understand. Later, we learned his name. Daniel Kelly."

Blink and Mush glanced at each other. "Kelly?" Blink asked, his mouth dry. "Daniel _Kelly_? What's he look like?"

Bellavia gave him a wondering look. "Brown eyes, brownish blonde hair; humans would call him handsome. But, I digress. Let me finish. At first he captured dragons, mostly our kind, and a couple of feral dragons. Once or twice an Emerald showed up. But they all escaped. Then, a couple years ago, he started looking for a girl that "heard dragons." He hasn't gotten her yet. This man is from the future. Almost two thousand years from now. He wants to take over the world, and he'll stop at nothing. By the time you get home, he already will have. I assure you, your lives will be completely different. Chances are, you'll end up building a palace for one of his descendents. Now do you see why you shouldn't talk?" The humans nodded.

Blink looked out a window in the door. "Coast is clear. Should we go?"

"Wait a minute," Mush said. "You said this guy's from the future. But if that's true, then he's gotta have ancestors, right? So, what if this guy meets a girl and they get married and have kids, and then his descendents meet his ancestors and _they _have kids, then he'll never have been born. But then his descendents couldn't'ave met his ancestors and he couldn't'ave taken over the world, which means we wouldn't be here, but we _are _here and all of this has actually already happened, but since we're here it _couldn't _have happened."

"_What_?" Snipes asked in confusion.

"I believe it's called a paradox," Mush replied, grinning.

Blink shook his head in amusement. "Ya lost me. But I got a feelin' we've been lucky so far. Luck don't hold out long. Let's get outta here before the wall start movin' in."

Mush was about to say something when, all of a sudden, he froze. "Where's Crutchy?"

--

Actually, Crutchy was on the other side of the mountain, waiting impatiently for Kris to punch in the entrance code. That was when he got his second big surprise for the day.

"Kris! I thought I'd never find you!" a voice gasped from behind him.

Kris turned around. "Blazer, you better not have been seen coming up here."

Crutchy looked at this Blazer thing. "Uh, that—that animal is talkin'. _How's _it talkin'? _Why's _it talkin'? Am I losin' it or somethin'?"

Blazer walked up to Kris. "Of course I wasn't seen. This is from Jade."

Kris picked up the small roll of paper that Blazer had dropped at his feet.

_When are you coming home? _it read. _Do you need any help?_

Kris turned the message over. _No_, he wrote. _And I'll be home soon_. "Here," he said, giving it to Blazer. Bring this back to her. Don't lose it."

"Thank you for ignoring me, Kris. It always makes me feel good about myself," Crutchy suddenly said sarcastically.

Blazer looked at him as if noticing him for the first time. "Who are you?"

Kris motioned for Crutchy to come over by the door. "Be quiet, Blaze. Go away."

"Okay."

Crutchy watched Blazer run away. "Who was that?"

"A friend of mine's son," Kris replied as the door opened.

"What, is your friend some kinda freak or somethin'?"

"Not a human!" Kris said in exasperation.

"Oh."

--

Gardrania led the party of five out into the hall, past a great multitude of rooms. After a while, it started to get boring. Room, after room, after room, Snipes thought. I wonder what it would be like to have my own room? That's somethin' that's never gonna happen.

Suddenly, Gardrania held up her hand, signaling them to stop. They could see yet another door, but, strangely enough, this one was open. "It's the light at the end of the tunnel," Blink snickered. "I must be dead!"

Mush elbowed him, hard. "Shutup, Blink."

Blink's shocked look turned to offense. "Sorry. I guess I didn't realize that would _offend _you."

Behind them, Snipes whispered to Race in mock sadness, "The end of a deep an' lastin' friendship."

"Yeah," Race agreed. "But maybe Blink'll be shocked inta silence."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Gardrania turned around and glared at the four of them. "Can't you four take anything seriously! This isn't just some joke! You all think you can just stroll right in here, do whatever you want, and stroll right out again without anything happening! Crutchy's somewhere because of all of _you_!"

The newsies looked at each other uncomfortably. No one had actually ever said that to their faces before.

"Um, sorry?" Snipes attempted timidly.

Gardrania whirled around and stormed on. The rest of them hurried to catch up.

Medda wasn't sure whether to comfort them or agree with her. In a lot of ways, Gardrania was right. Her friends, well, most of them, still acted like they were about ten years old. Mush was the most mature; at seventeen, he should be. But Blink, his elder by four months, could have easily passed for a twelve year old. Crutchy and Race acted more like adults, but they had their moments. And for the most part, Snipes acted like a precocious six year old. Medda decided she'd stay neutral. After all, she didn't want to start a fight.

Just then, a blonde haired boy stepped through the open door. His head was turned away from them, which gave the New Yorkers just enough time to realize they were completely weaponless, unless Gardrania had something they didn't know about. The boy turned around and stopped in his tracks. He looked nervously from face to face, his gaze finally resting on Gardrania. He pointed. "I know who _you _are."

Blink and Race exchanged glances with raised eyebrows. "This is interesting," Blink muttered.

Race nodded in agreement. "Very."

The boy came up to Gardrania. "I tried to get your dragon out."

"She's here?" Gardrania interrupted.

Qik looked a little surprised. "Of course! But," he paused, "she's under lock and key. Dad doesn't want her getting out."

Blink leaned over to Race. "Did I miss something? What's he talkin' about?"

Race shrugged and mouthed, How should I know?

Qik looked around for anyone that might be listening to the conversation. Satisfied that there was no one, he said, "Did you actually think you could get in here? Just through that door is the watch tower, and after that….well, after that you'd be in the dungeon."

Gardrania sighed and knelt down in front of Qik. "Qik, we need your help. Will you help us?"

Qik smiled. "Sure, Drania."

"_Just _a second," Blink said as loud as he dared. "_What _is goin' on? Someone ain't tellin' me somethin'. I hate that. You two're actin' like you know each other!"

Gardrania looked surprised. "We do."

Blink's mouth dropped open and even Race looked a little surprised. Since Blink's mouth was incapable of forming words at the moment, it was left up to Race to stutter, "How?"

"He's my brother," she replied, grinning. She introduced everyone and then said, "How's Mom?"

Qik looked down as he told her sadly, "She—got sick, and, Dad wouldn't send for a doctor, and, well—"

"She died, didn't she?" Gardrania asked quietly. Qik nodded. "Does he want me to take her place?"

"There are plenty of women here to keep him satisfied. Besides, his new thing is saying you're a witch."

Gardrania snorted. "He would. So, Qik, how do you propose we get in?"

"You're going to by my friends from town that want to have a look around to see if they want to join the crusade against the 'dragon girl'."

"He'll recognize me."

"Not if he doesn't see you."

"How true."

Snipes looked blankly at Blink. "Are you followin' this?"

"Uh, no."

Qik suddenly began staring at Blink. "Are you sure they can be trusted?"

"Yes," Gardrania replied simply. "They're my friends. So you're going to have to trust them."

"Okay," Qik sighed. "I guess they can't be all bad."


	8. Section 8

Crutchy was getting annoyed. He wasn't really enjoying the way Kris was treating him. He was used to having next to no rights, but he hated being ordered around. Passionately.

Kris, who was walking in front of him, turned around. "Do you think you could walk a little quieter?"

"Oh, sorry," Crutchy retorted sarcastically. "They didn't teach me how to levitate back in New York."

"Did anyone teach your mother not to drink while she was pregnant?"  
Crutchy bristled, knowing Kris's quick mind and even quicker tongue had once again outdone him. And he was sure his mother hadn't been an alcoholic. I hate him, Crutchy thought sulkingly. He's a jerk. Why did I ever agree to come with him?

--

They didn't see the soldiers until it was two late. Fortunately, all that fighting on the street paid off. They had the three soldiers on the run within five minutes. None of them had suffered a wound from the swords the soldiers had carried. Or so they thought.

Blink hefted one of the heavy swords that was now laying on the ground. "Hey, Snipes, think you can lift this?" When Snipes didn't answer, Blink turned around and saw his friend sitting on the ground. "Snipes, you can't be tired—" That's when he noticed the pool of blood Snipes was sitting in. His own blood. Blink put down the sword and went quickly to his friend's side. Dropping to one knee, he said with concern, "Hey buddy, you okay? No, that was a stupid question. Where'd they get ya?"

Snipes pulled up his shirt a little to expose a long gash in his stomach. A long, deep gash, barely keeping his vital organs in. "Blink, when you see Crutchy again, tell him I'm sorry, and that I'll miss him."

Blink bit his lip. "Naw, that's fine, _you _can tell him."

By this time the others had noticed and were watching from a distance. Snipes's next words were faint, and Blink had to lean down to hear them. "Give him this." He reached into his blood soaked pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill.

"Snipes, you can't just—"

It was no use. Snipeshooter was dead.

--

Gardrania hadn't known Snipes very well, but she still felt bad. She felt horrible for Blink, who had known him for a lot of his life, as well as Mush and Race. Blink sat in a corner, his eyes red and swollen, making an effort not to cry. She went over to him. "You were good friends with Snipes?"

"Yeah."

She opened a bag that she had brought along and took out a glass bottle. It had perfectly painted dragons all around it, although Blink had never seen this kind. Large, green, fire-breathing dragons. Like the ones in those ridiculous fairy tales that he had always scoffed at.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"I've owned this since forever. I didn't think it would be right to just leave the—Snipes here, so I thought maybe you'd like to have him cremated."

"You mean—burn him?"

Gardrania nodded.

"Yeah," Blink said slowly. "I think it's a good idea. Let's do it."


	9. Section 9

As Gardrania put Snipes' ashes in a bottle, she spoke the words, "Deran megla aloti." She sealed the bottle with a cork. "Let nothing happen to this," she said solemnly, handing it to Blink.

"I won't."

Race, being practical, suggested, "Why don't we take a look at those swords? Maybe if they don't got too much blood on 'em we can use 'em."

"That's disgusting," Medda said flatly.

"Is it?" Race asked, looking at the weapons. "Why ain't there any blood on these? And here's my question—if Snipes was in the back, how'd he get cut? I was next to him. All of a sudden he just fell over. Nothin' came near 'im."

Something Mush had said before suddenly came to Medda's mind. "Mush, didn't you say something about a paradox?"

"Yeah," Mush replied. "So?"

"So," Medda replied uncertainly, "Maybe when this Paul—Kelly person takes over the world, which he already has, Snipes dies. So, what if we stop him?"

"Don't we have to?" Blink asked. "If we don't, it's gonna be even worse than bein' a newsy. Think about Crutchy. How long would he survive that?"

"Who's Crutchy?" Qik interrupted.

"A friend," Race told him.

"Why wouldn't he survive it?"

"Qik," Gardrania said warningly.

"Like I was saying," Blink continued with a little annoyance, "we've gotta stop this guy. Even if Snipes is still dead, we're goin' good for other people."

Race sighed. "That sounds really corny, but you're right. So where do we—"

_Gardrania!_ a voice boomed inside all of their heads joyfully.

Blink sucked in a breath through his clenched teeth. "Could you tell her to tone it down a little? That _hurts_."

Gardrania barely stopped herself from broadcasting her own telepathy to everyone. _Ista, where are you?_

_How do I know? _Ista's reply came. _Some damp, musty room. It's got a wooden door_.

Wooden door, Gardrania thought. How helpful. _Do you remember what hall they brought you down?_

_No_, Ista said impatiently. _I was drugged_.

_Ista, you have to tell us something that will help us find you, or we'll all be stuck here forever!_

dragon burial prayer: "may your spirit guide you in all that should come"

--

Kris led Crutchy down a damp hallway with only one door. Of course, Crutchy wasn't really paying attention to how many doors there were, he was too busy imagining himself smashing millions of little insects that looked like Kris. The man was really beginning to get on his nerves. 'Crutchy, could you do this? Crutchy, stop! Crutchy, what do you think you're doing!' Is there something wrong with me? he thought. Am I somehow inferior to Mr. Voodoo Gypsy Guy? I don't think so. I ain't inferior to no voodoo witch. Ooo, yeah, I'll call 'im a witch from now on! That'll really bug 'im. His thoughts were shattered by Kris's voice.

"Crutchy. Crutchy!"

"What?"

"Do you have any lock picks?"

"What do I look like? A thief or somethin'!"

Kris shrugged. "You never know. I didn't quite catch what you said you did for a living. Can't be all prosperous."

"Listen carefully," Crutchy said sarcastically. "I—am—a—new—sie. Didja get all that?"

Kris ignored him. Reaching into his tunic, he pulled out a small wooden box. Flipping it open with his thumb, he scrutinized three pieces of metal.

Crutchy looked over the gypsy's shoulder. "Pardon me for askin', but if you got those, why'd ya ask me if I had any?"

"They're old," Kris replied absently. "I thought you might have some better ones." He picked one up and inserted it into the lock on the only door in the hallway. Concentrating on the lock, he said to Crutchy, "If you see or hear anything suspicious sounding, _anything_, tell me. Even if it just sounds like water dripping or something harmless like that. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure, I can do that."

As Kris stood bent over the lock, Crutchy's eyes roved over the silent hall. He thought it was a little strange that this was the only door in the hall. It was also wood. All the other corridors they had walked down had had at least twenty doors; many times over fifty. And they had all been metal. Every single one. So why should this one be different?

"Yes," Kris breathed. The door opened with an audible creak. It had obviously not been opened for a while. Another mystery. Why would they be going in there?

They stepped into the room which was, oddly enough, lit by candles. If the room was never used, why would there be candles in there? That was when he looked across the room and saw a familiar form. If dragons could look annoyed, this one had achieved it.

_Took you long enough to get here_, Ista said crossly.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Crutchy responded.

Kris had obviously not heard the exchange, because he gave Crutchy a look as if he was demented. "Does she look familiar to you?"

"That's a rhetorical question," Crutchy said. "Of course she does. I sure wasn't talkin' to you."

"I feel so wanted."

"Yeah, well, ya get used to the feelin'."

Ista was pulling impatiently at the chains that were holding her prisoner. Crutchy flinched. "Sorry, Ista. I'll get you out."

_Good._

Crutchy walked over to her and awkwardly dropped to one knee. Kris watched silently from a distance with his arms folded across his chest. After trying to free Ista, Crutchy sighed and looked up at him. "I need your help."

--

Stamel impatiently pushed another book across his desk. "Can't you find anything worthwhile?" he said crossly to a teenage boy.

"These are what I found," the boy said, pushing his glasses up. "I can't confirm if they're 'worthwhile' or not. But here's another one."

Stamel grabbed the offered book but hesitated to open it. The book was old—its pages were cracked and yellowed. Old things often were magic. He suddenly decided that he didn't want to look at the book. Not now. Maybe not ever. He yawned, feigning exhaustion. "You there! Boy, what's your name?"

"Dominic."

"You from the future?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, Dominic, you did well today. Get me a glass of brandy and I'll leave you to your own devices for the rest of the day," Stamel said warmly.

Dominic nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Yes, he was from the future. 1997, to be exact. And he had _hated _traveling five centuries into the past. At least he'd had a name and personality in his home time. Here he was just some serving boy.

He shook himself out of his reverie. Dominic had seen what happened to disobedient workers. "So I'll get him his brandy," Dominic mumbled to himself.


	10. Section 10

Jack reappeared in his chair, and Boots fell over screaming. "How'd you get back here! I saw you disappear! I saw you! I saw you! I saw you! I saw you! I……" he kept screaming. By this time, everyone in the small restaurant was staring at him, and people were coming in from the street to see what all the noise was.

"Boots," Jack began, "just _shut up_. I didn't disappear. Okay?"

"Yes," Boots said with a crazed look in his eyes. Then he ran out of the restaurant and onto the streets of New York City, laughing insanely.

--

Ista never answered Gardrania's plea. "What?" Blink asked when he saw the strange look come over the girl's face.

"She's not answering," Gardrania replied in bewilderment.

"She's not dead, is she?" Qik asked.

"Quit whinin', kid," Race said to they boy. Medda kicked him. "Ow! What was that for!"

"Race, he's not more than eleven years old. Give the kid a break!" Medda replied tightly.

"Cat fight," Blink commented dryly.

Mush glanced at him before saying, "You guys! It ain't that big a deal. Let's not fight, okay?"

Race nodded sheepishly and Medda sighed resignedly. "You're right," she said to Mush. "Sorry, Race."

"Yeah. Me too. I mean, sorry about that."

Gardrania, meanwhile, stood stock-still in the hallway. Blink approached her. "Hey, you okay?"

She turned her deep brown eyes on him. "Blink, I can't hear her. What's happening?"

"Maybe she's just sleepin'," Blink suggested. "Or maybe she's talkin' to someone else."

"Yeah. Maybe," she said, smiling for the first time. "I hope you're right."

--

When Dominic returned with Stamel's drink, Stamel was reading over a piece of paper. "Thank you," he said absently. "Oh, and, uh, what is it, Dominic? You're supposed to check on the dragon. You _do _know how to get there, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then, go!"


	11. Section 11

Dominic found the room with no difficulty, but, oddly, the door was slightly ajar. He cautiously pushed it open and walked in. Two people were bent over the lizard. He shut the door and the people's heads snapped up. One he'd seen before in the halls, and the other was a crippled boy.

Before he could react, though, the dark haired man was in front of the door and locking it. "You're not going anywhere," he said in a menacing tone.

The boy, who was not much older than Dominic, sighed in exasperation. "Yer so judging. He's just a kid. What's he gonna do to us?"

Kris glared at him. "Report us. Which means death for me."

"Ooo. That _would _scare you."

"A gory, torturous death."

"Never mind. But still, you don't know he'd do that."

Kris returned the comment in a pitying tone. "You tell me that I'm too judging. You're too trusting. This kid could stab you in the back right now."

Dominic decided he needed to put a stop to this. "I could, but I won't," he interrupted.

"Kris," Crutchy said, interrupting what Kris was about to say, "I know what you're gonna ask. Let _me _do the talkin' for once." He turned to Dominic. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Well," Dominic began slowly," you don't. But you could if you needed to. For one thing, I detest this place. I don't want to be here, and I can't wait to leave. How's that?"

Crutchy nodded. "That's good. See, Kris here, he's a jerk. Don't listen to him. That's the difference between me and him. _I _trust people."

If looks could kill, the one Kris gave Crutchy at that moment would have sent the newsy into convulsions, and then eventually a very painful death. "Fine. I'll give him one chance. If he shows any sign of treachery, though, we're springing the dragon and leaving _him _here."

"Does this have to start out as an abusive relationship?" Dominic remarked in a questioning tone.

"Get the dragon out," Kris said bluntly.

Dominic shrugged, and dropping to his knees by Ista, pulled out a key. Crutchy, who was standing over him, said, "Hey, Kris, he's got a key. How come _you _don't got a key?"

"Would you stop talking like a little heathen street urchin?"

"Why? That's what I am, ain't I? Youse don't got no sense 'a humor, Kris," Crutchy replied in a very exaggerated New York accent.

Dominic was paying no attention to their fighting. He was trying to remember how many times and which way you were supposed to turn the key to unlock something. He remembered, and the lock clicked, freeing the desert lizard.

"Thanks," Crutchy said with a sigh of relief. "Uh, you ain't from this time, I can tell. Do ya wanna come with us?"

For a moment Dominic seemed to consider it. "No," he finally answered reluctantly. "I highly doubt I'm up to it. I can't fight, and I don't want to. I'll find my way home."

Crutchy bristled when he saw the smug smile and Kris's face. "Okay. Good luck then, I guess."

With that, Dominic left. Crutchy neither saw nor heard from him again.

--

"This doesn't seem right! There's no one here!" Gardrania exclaimed worriedly.

Qik shrugged off her anxiety. "They're probably asleep. Don't worry about it."

"It just doesn't seem right!" she persisted. "Doesn't anyone agree with me?"

The newsies looked at each other. "Uh, yeah," Race stammered. "Yeah, it _does_ seem weird, right guys?"

"You agree with him?" Gardrania said with frustration. "Argh!"

_Gardrania._

_Ista! _Gardrania silently cried joyfully. _Where are you?_

_I don't know. But Crutchy and another man let me out. Where are _you

_Crutchy's with you?_

_Yes._

_Good. Hold on, I don't know where we are. _She turned to Qik. "Where are we? Ista wants to know. She's with Crutchy and they're coming to find us."

Qik's face grew thoughtful. "Sector J in the east hall. I don't know if she can find us, though."

"Huh," Blink snorted. "Yeah, she _can_."

Gardrania nodded affirmation. "Give or take a few minutes, if we wait here a quarter of an hour she can find us."

So, fifteen minutes later, true to Gardrania's prediction, Ista rounded a corner and appeared in the corridor with Crutchy and a Bohemian man in tow. Blink straightened from his leaning position on the stone wall and Race allowed a small smile to form on his face. Mush and Medda exchanged glances over the gypsy, and a relieved look passed over Gardrania's face.

Crutchy's grin of triumph abruptly disappeared and a look of worried puzzlement replaced it. "Where's Snipes?"

Gardrania bit her lip. "Well, Crutchy—"

"No," Race interrupted. "I'll tell him."

Medda watched in surprise as he walked over to the far end of the corridor. Crutchy slowly followed and when he reached Race, the sixteen year old pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and said, "Crutchy, I really hate ta tell you this, but, we got into a fight with some soldier people, and, uh, Snipes got stabbed in the stomach." Crutchy barely heard Race's next words. He didn't need to. He already knew what they were. "Sorry, Crutchy, but Snipes is dead."

Crutchy shook his head. "How? When? Why?"

"We don't know, about four hours ago, why do you think?" Race replied.

Blink came over to them and handed Crutchy the twenty dollar bill and said, "Here. Snipes says he's sorry, and that he'll miss you. Said, that is."

Crutchy gaped at it a moment before saying, "Well, couldn't you'ave done anything for him?"

"No," Blink said regretfully. "He just sorta…died. Y'know?"

"No. I ain't known many people who've died."

Race took a breath. "Yeah, well, me either. I didn't even know my parents." He paused. "Well, let's do what we came here what we came here to do. I don't wanna stay here any longer than we've gotta."

Crutchy and Blink nodded, and Blink asked, "Hey Crutchy, who is that guy?"

Ista and Gardrania were exchanging news telepathically and were basically oblivious to everything else, so neither of them heard Crutchy say, "You guys, this is Kris Trouillefou. Kris, these are my _friends_, Blink, Race, Mush, and Medda. Who's that?" he asked, pointing to Qik.

"That's Qik," Medda told him. "He's helping us."  
"Well, yeah, I assume that. Why else would he be here?" Crutchy said in a pained tone. "Where're the cats?"

_They're gathering a force of more dragons,_ Ista told him, finally finished talking to Gardrania.

Kris was studying Gardrania intently. Gardrania noticed and said politely, "Crutchy? I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Oh, yeah," Crutchy began, his eyes flicking between the two. "Gardrania, Kris. Kris, Gardrania."

Gardrania, not suspecting who Kris really was, said, "Pleased to meet you. Where are you from?"  
"Oh, here and there," Kris replied. "You?"  
"Fogwood. Or at least, that's where I've lived most of my life."

"Hey," Blink interrupted, "can we get goin'? We don't got all day."

Qik nodded in agreement and led them through a door at the end of the hall.

It was suddenly obvious where everybody was. The door opened to a huge room. People say at small boxes with one illuminated side. Their fingers were moving rapidly over what looked like a typewriter to the newsies, or at least the keyboard to one. The illuminated sides of the boxes had small writing on them, which the group couldn't read from their distance away. Metal stairs led down to the floor, for the door opened up high above it.

Even the floor was made of something strange. It was made of a shiny, reflective material, while the desks with the boxes on them sat on raised platforms of the same stuff.

Only Qik and Kris were not staring with some level of astonishment. The two of them backed out into the hall. "Computers," Qik said dismissively. He looked Gardrania, Medda, and the newsies over. "Okay, you'll pass. No one will question us." He turned away. "I hope."

--

Bellavia slowly glided over Fogwood forest, something she rarely did, searching for an Emerald dragon. She gave her wings a downward sweep. "Please, for my people," she murmured. For, unknown to the humans, Bellavia was in line to be the next ruler of the winged cats. Her mother lay on her deathbed and would surely die in the coming war if there were no reinforcements. And the males were not allowed to rule. Without help, the winged cats would surely be exterminated, and those that were left would be thrown into chaos.

Her determination to get help grew, and she didn't see the dragon flying high above her. In fact, Bellavia had no idea the other dragon was there until it dove with a piercing shriek that was very typical of Emerald dragons. She looked up and dropped down just in time, throwing the Emerald off balance. The green dragon gathered itself to dive again when Bellavia gave the low whine that meant "peace between us."

The Emerald looked surprised for a moment, then nodded and swooped to the ground. Bellavia followed, and, once she had landed and looked the Emerald over, could tell that it was not an adult.

The two dragons were standing in the shade of some trees at the edge of Fogwood. The Emerald folded its wings. "What's a winged cat doing flying over Fogwood?"

Bellavia sat down and relaxed a little. The dragon was young, and female, too. The claws of a female Emerald dragonet developed more slowly than the male's. Of course, they were still wicked and could do quite a bit of damage with only fur to protect Bellavia's skin. "Did you know," Bellavia answered evenly, "that there is going to be a war?"

"Between who?"

"Good and evil."

The Emerald looked impatient. "No, I mean, _who_?"

Bellavia hid her smile by dropping her head to wash her paw. Finishing, she said, "Do you know the fortress in the mountains?" The dragonet nodded. "Well, it's us against them."

"Who's us?"

Bellavia swept her paw around and behind her. "Everyone. There aren't enough winged cats to win the fight. We need help. Unless you _want _to be used to set fire to the entire country."

The dragonet looked thoughtful. "No, I don't. I suppose I could ask my mother to ask some of our kind to help, but," suddenly she put on false bravado, "how do I know I can trust you?"

"Little dragon, tell your mother Bellavia of the winged cats requests help. Please," she added, remembering to be polite.

"Bellavia?" the dragonet said in a startled tone. "Where have I heard that before?"  
"I don't know. Maybe you'd better tell me your name," Bellavia replied gently.

The dragonet puffed out her chest proudly. "My name is Aquane, daughter of Kareaflare. I was named after an Emerald dragon goddess."

"Oh. Your mother is named Kareaflare? I seem to remember something awhile back……"

"Yes?" Aquane prompted.

"I don't remember. You'd better go, little Aquane. Tell your mother what I've told you."

Aquane nodded and walked into the meadow. She spread her wings, and with a backward glance, gave them the all-important downward sweep. As she spiraled up through the air, she gave a shriek meaning, "good-bye." The scream echoed in the hot August air.

Bellavia watched her disappear over the treetops, choosing not to return the good-bye. Winged cats were not a particularly vocal race. She walked out into the meadow and launched herself into the air, this time flying towards the mountains.


	12. Section 12

"I _told _him that if he didn't shape up I was going to leave. And he is _not _shaping up!"

"Mistress Madeline, I'm sure Mr. Kelly would not deliberately have—"

"Oh, yes, he _would _have!" a young woman with flaming red hair yelled. "And don't even try that 'Mistress Madeline' stuff with me. I'm sick of his broken promises. If he loves me then he wouldn't treat me this way. I'm leaving, and that's final!"

Madeline began stuffing clothes into a leather bag that had been thrown on her bed. A mousy brown haired maid tried to reason with her. "Surely you don't _mean _that, Mistress Madeline. You're _far _too young to be out there all alone—"

Madeline paused in her packing long enough to sigh and say in an exasperated tone, "Ardella, I'm seventeen years old. Hardly 'far too young.' I'm not twenty five like Jack, but I can make it on my own. Oh, and if he asks, tell him he'll have to find a new future Mrs. Kelly."

"But—"

"Ardella, _please_! Stop wasting your breath! I'm leaving, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to make me stay!" Madeline yelled. Finishing her packing, she walked out the door, shut it quietly, and walked down the carpeted hall. Her soft cloth boots made no noise as she strode towards the stairs. Reaching them, she took a deep breath, smoothed her hair back, and started down.

--

Qik and Kris led Gardrania, Medda, and the newsies down the stairs, expecting to be stopped and questioned before even reaching the floor. But, much to their surprise, they weren't. Gardrania had stowed Ista in the small bag she had brought along. Luckily, Ista was small enough to fit semi-comfortably.

_Make sure you don't move,_ Gardrania thought to Ista.

_I won't_.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Crutchy, half expecting to slip on the shiny surface, gingerly put his left foot down. When it remained firmly on the floor he shrugged and placed his crutch and left foot on the substance. He'd been the last one down, so he hurried to catch up to the others. Race and Qik were waiting for him—the others were still slowly walking ahead. Race was looking at him, arms folded over his chest and an exasperated look on his face. When Crutchy reached him he muttered in an exaggerated New York accent, "Awright, Crutchy, don't tawk too loud. We don't want no one knowin' wea're from Noo Yawk."

Crutchy grinned and nodded. "Okay," he murmured. "Easy enough."

The rest of the small party looked back and beckoned to them. They were almost among the boxes. Race, Crutchy, and Qik, trying to look purposeful, walked towards their friends.

At that moment a young man walked up to Qik. "What are you doing down here, Qik?" he asked. "Didn't your father tell you that you weren't supposed to come here?"

Qik looked uncomfortable. "Um, yeah, but, uh—"

"Matthew! Matthew, I need to talk to you!" The young man, Qik, Race, and Crutchy all looked up at the same time. A short woman in her late thirties dressed in gray pants and a gray shirt was standing on the other side of the room. She hurried over to the man, Matthew, and said, "Matthew, Mistress Madeline says she's _leaving_. She's very angry with Mr. Kelly." Looking at Qik, she chided, "Qik, you aren't supposed to be down here. Who are your friends?"

Crutchy glanced at Gardrania, Medda, Mush, Blink, and Kris, shrugging helplessly when he saw the questioning look in Blink's eye.

"Oh…yes…my friends. Well, this is Sean and this is Aaron," Qik replied, pointing first at Crutchy and then at Race.

"I'm Ardella," the woman told them. Taking a closer look at Crutchy, she asked kindly, "Did you hurt yourself?"

Crutchy looked confused for a moment, so Race murmured, "Your crutch, you stupid crip."

"No, I'm crippled," Crutchy replied eventually.

Ardella and Matthew looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Sean," Matthew began, "come with us, please. We have someone who would like to meet you."

"Wait!" Qik said loudly. Ardella and Matthew looked at him. "Dad said I could show him around," the boy whined convincingly. "He'll be mad if you bring him to Daniel! You don't want to make my dad _mad_, do you?"

Ardella turned to Matthew. "He's right. Mistress Madeline is much more important. If she gets away Mr. Kelly will be furious. Let's find her." Matthew nodded and the two of them hurried off. Qik sighed in relief as they joined their friends.

"What was _that _all about?" Blink questioned softly.

Kris snorted. "Mistress Madeline. Paul Kelly's future wife, rumor has it. The girl's a senseless manipulator. You don't want to meet her."

"She was always nice to me," Qik put in timidly.

"I never said she was cruel, I just said she was a senseless manipulator."

"Oh."

At that moment a huge crash shook the fortress. Various boxes started beeping loudly. "I'm picking something up!" one woman yelled. "It's dragons!"

"Let's get out of here," Kris said just loud enough for them to hear. The eight of them moved as quickly as they could towards an open door on the opposite side of the room from which they had come. It took them approximately thirty seconds to reach it, and when they stumbled in Kris slammed the door shut.

Mush sniffed the air. "Does it smell like smoke in here to anyone?"

Race nodded. "Yeah, but it shouldn't. That worries me."

A cough from Crutchy made them all look at him. "Not only does it _smell _like smoke, it looks like somethin's on fire in here. Is this a problem?"

Crutchy was right. Much to everyone's dismay, the hall they stood in was rapidly filling with smoke. So much, in fact, that it was hard to see.

Blink had reached the door first, so he was the farthest down the hall when he said, "You guys, let's get outta here. We're gonna die form lack of air or something." So, once again they found themselves feeling their way down a corridor. Only this time it was much more urgent.

They could all see a splinter of light up ahead when Blink suddenly cried, "Hey! Who is that!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were there," a female said.

The smoke cleared for a moment and everyone got a good look at the speaker. Blink was confronted by the most beautiful set of green eyes he had ever seen.

"Madeline," Kris groaned.

If Madeline would have heard him she would have been insulted. As it was, she was entranced by Blink. And he was equally entranced by her.

An explosion and a hot blast of air interrupted their moment of love at first sight. "No time for romance!" Race yelled, grabbing Blink's arm. "This place is goin' up in flames!"

--

"Bellavia!"

"Yes?"

A winged cat saluted her. "We've set fire to the fortress. All the major entrances are blocked. We'll burn them out," he added with a malicious grin.

About five hundred dragons were sitting in the meadow. The majority of them were winged cats and Emeralds, with quite a few feral and one or two desert lizards.

Bellavia nodded. "I hope you took precautions not to trap the good humans."

"We couldn't," the winged cat replied. "We tried, but no one knew where they were. No one knows where they _are_. I'm sorry, Bellavia, on behalf of all of us, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid they probably won't survive."

"What! I told you to at least—"

She was cut off by the approach of a large blue and gold Emerald dragon. "I'm sure this young cat did all in his power to keep the humans safe," she said to Bellavia, much to the relief of the other winged cats. The Emerald was about to say something else when shouts broke out at one end of the meadow. Both of the cats and the Emerald looked in the direction of the noise. The cause of the commotion was a young red fox speeding towards them. When it was about ten feet away it sprung towards the Emerald, landed on her back, and settled down between her wings.

It was Streak. "Kareaflare," she panted, "Blaze and Jade sent me to tell you that Kris's in there!"

Kareaflare looked startled. "That man is going to kill himself someday. Streak, where did he go in?"  
"The south door."

"Then chances are he'll come out the north."

"I don't know," Streak replied. "Why don't you ask the dragon that's with them?"

"What dragon?" Kareaflare asked sharply. "And did you say 'them'?"

"Yes," Bellavia interrupted. "Them. I led a group up there early this morning. That's who I'm worried about. They were trying to rescue a desert lizard. shall I try to contact her?"  
"Yes, please."

Bellavia concentrated on what she thought the desert lizard should look like. She faintly felt the sensation of fear. But she wasn't the one that was afraid. She was making contact, but not very well. She increased her concentration. What was the desert lizard's name again? _Ista? _she tried experimentally. _Ista, if you're there, answer me._

A brief sensation of surprise came before the answer, which was strained and faint. _Yes….I'm here…_.

The mental picture Bellavia was was dark and clouded. Suddenly, it brightened. _Ista, _she asked, _where are you?_

Ista's voice was stronger this time. _We're out on a balcony. And we need some help! Soon!_

Abruptly the contact was cut off. "They're trapped by the flames," Bellavia told a throng of dragons that had gathered around them. "We need to help them. Now."


End file.
